Richard Madoc was a British author who sought fame through the muse Calliope.
History[]
Madoc found himself trapped by an impenetrable writer's block, so he traded with another author for the possession of the muse Calliope who had been held captive by Erasmus Fry for years. Fry was willing to make the sale of his slave, and told Madoc, "They say one ought to woo her kind, but I must say I found force most efficacious."
Madoc, like Fry before him, abused Calliope, raping her regularly and stealing her creativity to fulfill his selfish ambition of fame and fortune. Of course, a second successful novel was not enough. Nor was a third, or a poetry collection, play, or a deal to write and direct the film adaptation of one of his books.
A despairing Calliope, meanwhile, called upon the triad of goddesses known as The Three for help. They directed her to Morpheus, who was once her lover, and who was then similarly imprisoned.
Upon his escape from imprisonment, Dream did go to rescue Calliope. Madoc returned home to find Dream waiting for him. Dream insisted that Calliope be released, but Madoc whined that without her he would have no ideas. Disgusted, Dream granted Madoc ideas in abundance as a punishment. Madoc suddenly began to experience an overabundance of ideas. He could not concentrate on any one thing because another idea popped into his head before he had even acknowledged the last.
Finally, Madoc begged an acquaintance named Felix Garrison to go to his house and free the muse. Calliope, however, was already gone, only a copy of Erasmus Fry's out-of-print, Here Comes a Candle, remained in her former prison.
Eventually, Calliope asked Dream to release Madoc from his torment. Dream complied, but after Dream freed Madoc, the man seemed to have no more ideas at all.
In "The Wake", Madoc is shown to be recovering from what Dream put him through as he is seen attending Dream's funeral.
Appearance[]
TBA
Personality[]
Madoc is a cruel and ruthless man willing to do anything to get his selfish ends. He also proved to be quite ambitious as he began to achieve fame and fortune as a novelist, poet, screenwriter and film director.
Relationships[]
TBA
Behind the Scenes[]
- Madoc's book, Her Wings was mentioned in a few other stories by Neil Gaiman including The Last Temptation, as an inside joke.
- One of Madoc's works, The Spirit Who Had Half Of Everything, took its name from an unused chapter title in an early draft of James Branch Cabell's Figures of Earth.